Thai Union Statement in Response to the Trafficking in Persons Report 2016

1 July 2016, Bangkok—Thai Union Group PCL (Thai Union) has noted Thailand’s improvement from Tier 3 to Tier 2 on the US Department of State Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report watch-list.

“This development can be seen as an endorsement of the commitments made by the Royal Thai Government to address human trafficking. However, there is always more that can be achieved, and Thai Union will continue to support and implement best practices designed to eradicate human trafficking in the seafood industry,” said Darian McBain, global director for sustainable development.

Thai Union has implemented a number of policies that are designed to reduce the risk of workers being trafficked in the seafood industry and address the potential of forced labor. This includes a policy commitment on banning transshipment at sea, an ethical migrant worker recruitment policy and the implementation of the Thai Union Business Ethics and Labor Code of Conduct.

“Thai Union endorses the work being taken by the Royal Thai Government over the last year, including the Royal Ordinance on Fisheries and the amendments to the Anti-Human Trafficking Act,” she concluded.

The TIP report is an annual report issued by the U.S State Department which ranks governments across the world on their efforts to combat human trafficking. The Tier 2 watch-list is for countries who do not fully comply with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance, based on commitments by the country to take additional future steps over the next year.

More information about Thai Union’s efforts to work collaboratively to combat trafficking and modern slavery in the seafood industry is available at http://tu.listedcompany.com/newsroom/20160615-tu-modern-slavery-en.pdf.